Chasing Wolves
by SeveralSunlitDays7
Summary: After the return of Voldemort, Nymphadora Tonks is recruited into the Order of the Phoenix. What will she do when she falls in love with one of the members? What will happen when she discovers his dangerous secret? Will their love prevail?


a/n: new story, yayy!

Disclaimer: not mine.

I proudly dedicate this story to my awesome friend, purplepeopleeater78, coz she likes this ship a lot. And coz she's one of my Best Friends. And coz I'm in a sentimentalish mood.

Dear purplepeopleeater78, I'm sorry, but here is another story you're going to have to read before it's finished. Hopefully it won't be to long. Love, DwellingOnDreams7.

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><p>"Here," said Kingsley, thrusting the piece of paper into the woman's hands.<p>

She looked at it curiously. In long slanted writing, it simply said: _The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix may be found at number twelve, Grimmauld Place, London._

As soon as her eyes had read the phrase, a low creaking noise met her ears, and immediately a battered door emerged between house numbers eleven and thirteen, followed swiftly by dirty walls and grimy windows.

She looked at Kingsley Shacklebolt and Mad-Eye Moody, standing beside her, and it was really only at that moment that she realised the full impact of what she was about to do.

Nymphadora Tonks was joining the Order of the Phoenix.

She silently followed as her the two senior Aurors led the way to the entrance. Her stomach had butterflies.

Once inside, the place was as grimy as the walls outside. It was dark, and the whole place reeked of something like mothballs. The dark walls were covered in portraits of glaring people, and Tonks stared around in awe.

Not noticing where her feet were taking her, she didn't notice the elephant foot umbrella holder until she tripped right over it. "Ah, crap!" she cried as she lost her balance. Kingsley caught her before she hit the ground, obviously anticipating the movement.

Before she could even finish her exclamation, it was drowned out but sudden screaming, which Tonks located as coming from a large portrait in the middle of the hall, its curtains roughly pushed to the side, revealing an old haggard woman.

"FILTHY HALF-BLOODS AND BLOOD TRAITORS BESMIRCHING THE HONOURABLE HOUSE OF BLACK, HOW DARE YOU, FREAKS, MUTANTS, BEGONE – "

Moody aimed his wand at the dirty portrait, and with a bang the curtains slammed shut, silencing the deafening yelling.

"Sorry," muttered Tonks shamefacedly.

"It's alright," said Kingsley lightly, "she doesn't like anybody."

Tonks was ushered down the narrow corridor and led into a dimly lit kitchen. A red-headed woman was had her back to them, busy at the stove.

"Molly, dinner already?" said Moody.

Molly turned around and her face immediately split into a welcoming smile. "Kingsley, Alastor, just in time. And you must be Nymphadora?"

Tonks sighed, she was so used to this. "Yes, but please, call me Tonks."

"But Nymphadora is such a lovely name!" the woman protested.

Tonks smiled tightly. "I'm sure it is, but please, I like people to call me Tonks, it's much better."

"Alright, dear," Molly smiled. Tonks instantly smiled in return, Molly reminded her just of her own mum, with all the love and warmth simply radiating out of her. "In that case, could you please be ever so helpful, and set the table? For eleven, I think we're having tonight..."

_Ah well,_ thought Tonks, she'll learn eventually. _They all do._

She walked over to the draw Molly was pointing at, and right foot hooked into a leg of a chair on her way past. She stumbled, but caught herself on the table before she hit the ground. "Sorry," she smiled at Molly, "I'm a bit clumsy."

"But aren't you an Auror?" asked Molly, surprised.

"Yeah, I am," said Tonks as she reached the utensils draw, "I almost failed the Stealth and Tracking test, did you hear me wake up that old woman's portrait in the hall?"

"Oh, was that you?"

"Yeah I knocked over that elephant foot umbrella holder..."

Tonks began setting out the table as per Molly's orders, and she dropped a fork three times before Molly told her to come get a new one. Tonks blushed and did as she was told.

A thunderous noise started up, and soon five red-headed children, obviously related to Molly, and a girl with bushy brown hair, came bursting through the kitchen door.

"I thought I smelt food," said the only red-headed girl. She turned to Tonks, and Tonks hastened to introduce herself.

The girl, named Ginny, smiled, and introduced her brothers and the other girl. Tonks struggled to keep up, she had never been very good at names.

"Stop, stop!" she cried eventually, cupping her forehead in her hands. The two twins had successfully confused her and made her brain just about hurt, as they argued which one of them was Fred, and which was George.

"Just ignore them," said Ginny, "if you can't remember, just yell out 'twin!' and one of them will respond."

"Hey!" said one of them indignantly.

"We would never respond to that!" said the other.

"Yes, you would," said the bushy haired girl, Hermione, firmly.

"Shush, braniac," said a twin.

"Don't call her that!" said the other boy, Ron, furiously.

This family was definitely going to give her a headache.

"Aww, is ickle Ronniekins defending Hermione?"

Tonks slumped her body, her head hitting the table with a thump. Her arm jerked, and she knocked over a cup of pumpkin juice.

"Ah, sorry!" she cried.

"Not to worry, dear," said Molly. She waved her wand and the mess was cleared, before Tonks could even draw her own wand. "Enough of that," Molly spoke sharply to the siblings, "You're giving the poor woman a headache, it's only her first day here."

"Sorry," said the twins in unison, but Tonks could see they were anything but, she herself having constantly worn the same expression every time she got caught doing something she wasn't supposed to. She smirked at the twins, and they smirked back. Molly, however, looked satisfied. _Or maybe she just gave up a long time ago_, Tonks realised.

Moody and Kingsley returned to the kitchen, bringing with them a man with red hair, who greeted Molly with a warm kiss, and Sirius Black.

Tonks couldn't deny that the presence of Sirius didn't scare her a little, she could still remember everything her mum had told her about this man, the dangerous mass-murderer. However, Kingsley had also told her he was innocent, and he was her senior Auror.

Sirius Black's face bore the traces of someone who had once been a lot thinner, he had shadows in his eyes, as well as within them, and his dark hair was slightly long. He didn't look too much like a mass-murderer...

"So you're an Auror?" asked Hermione, diverting her attention.

"Yeah, only for a year though."

Molly dished up the meal, a lovely beef stroganoff, and Tonks was ashamed to realise that this woman was a much better cook than her mum.

"So why did you join the Order?" asked a twin eagerly.

"Kingsley thought I had some useful skills, he recruited me," she shrugged.

"Useful skills?" Molly repeated.

"Yeah, I'm a metamorhmagus." said Tonks.

"A what?" came from the four Weasley children, however Hermione's eyes were lit with comprehension.

"A metamorphmagus," Tonks repeated, "I can change my appearance at will."

Everyone except Moody and Kingsley were now looking at her with interest.

Tonks rolled her eyes and winked at Ginny. She scrunched her face up, and with a small pop, she gave herself a duck's beak, and changed her hair to a bright emerald green in a short pixie cut.

The teenagers gasped in surprise and awe.

The meal passed as everyone began questioning her ability, asking to imitate people or different disguises. A warm feeling spread through Tonks as she complied with the people around her. Back at Hogwarts, she had not had a large group of friends; some people regarded her ability as wrong or unnatural, even in the Wizarding World. Even some of the Aurors around her treated her with contempt, thinking it wasn't fair for natural ability to influence her results, or only as a tool to be used.

Everyone had finally pushed the plates back and sighed in relief, on a wonderfully full stomach, and Molly had only just snapped at the twins to clear the table, when the noise of the distant front door opening echoed through the house. Footsteps were heard, and soon the kitchen door was opened.

"Did I miss dinner?" the man asked.

"Moony!" cried Sirius. He jumped up from his seat and leapt to shake the man's hand.

The man was probably in his mid thirties, but he looked aged beyond his years. His hair was a light golden-brown colour, and it had a few grey streaks. There were several long scars on his face, and his clothes were patched and worn. The man had obviously seen better times. And it made Tonks exceptionally curious.

"Remus," Sirius positively beamed, "meet our newest recruit, Nymphadora Tonks!"

"Nymphadora? That's an unusual name," the man named Remus said.

Tonks glared at him. "Thank my mother. Call me Tonks."

Remus raised his eyebrows.

"Professor Lupin? What are you doing here?" asked Hermione, confused.

Remus smiled briefly. "I'm not your professor anymore, Hermione. I was in the Order the first time round, and Dumbledore contacted me soon after what happened in June."

"The first time? What was it like?" pressed one of the twins.

"That's enough, up to your rooms," said Molly sharply.

"What, we can't even know what the first war was like?" asked a twin indignantly.

The doorbell clanged, and the portrait started screaming.

"Rooms, now!" snapped Molly loudly.

The teenagers slowly got up from the table, grumbling, and slowly made their way out of the kitchen.

"I'll handle her," Sirius muttered, and dashed out the room.

"YOU... BLOOD TRAITOR!" echoed through the open door.

The portrait was silenced quickly, and when he returned, Sirius met Tonks' inquisitive glance. "My dear mother," he explained. "We think she's stuck herself down with a permanent sticking charm. It was her house, after all."

Tonks barely had time to process this new piece of knowledge, as Sirius was followed by several people, who quickly filling the absence made by the departed teenagers.

Tonks almost felt her eyes bug as Severus Snape strode through the door, looking for the world as if he owned the place. Tonks was soon introduced to Hestia Jones, Dedalus Diggle, Sturgis Podmore and Emmeline Vance, other members of the Order of the Phoenix.

"Nymphadora," Snape nodded in her direction, his voice sarcastic. He knew she hated her name, and so deliberately addressed her so. She glared at him, and her hair turned bright red.

"_Don't_ call me that," she all but growled.

A murmur of surprise ran through the group of new people she had just met. Tonks gave a start, and shook her head, flicking it back to bubblegum pink.

Everyone settled at the table, and Tonks' first meeting as a member of the Order of the Phoenix commenced.

"Have we any more new recruits, other than Bubblegum, here?" asked Emmeline Vance.

Tonks flushed as she realised she meant her.

"No," Kingsley rumbled, "many of the Aurors prefer to stick with the Ministry; it's easier to keep their jobs that way."

"And easier to believe the slander in the paper," Moody snarled.

"Well, what convinced you to join us, Tonks?" asked Hestia Jones.

Tonks jumped in her seat, her mouth suddenly dry. "Uh," she cleared her throat. "Well, Kingsley made a good argument. And throughout the year I've been an Auror, he's proved invaluable to me with advice, so I figured I couldn't do wrong to trust him," she shrugged, trying to act nonchalant.

"Only a year?" someone snorted.

"Shut it," Moody snarled, "she isn't without experience, look at what she can do! She got top marks in her Concealment and Disguise! Which is more than I can say for you, Sturgis."

Tonks instantly felt her face become blank. Was that all Moody saw her as? Useful only because she could change her appearance with a twitch of her nose?

The rest of the meeting passed in a blur, and Tonks would be the first to admit that she didn't pay as much attention. It was all fascinating, but she had no idea what the Order could use her for. She was a novice Auror; she was only 22 years old.

Tonks was told of the current mission of the Order, other than recruiting. Everyone had shifts, around the clock, in the Department of Mysteries, guarding a prophecy that You-Know-Who was intent on recovering. Tonks found out she would soon be rostered on to duty, and that she was not, under any circumstances, to touch any of the prophecies, on pain of insanity.

The meeting soon finished, and Tonks was brought back to reality as chairs scraped backwards. Many of the members left soon after, but Remus, Kingsley, Molly and her husband Arthur remained.

"Would you like to sleep here for the night, dear?" asked Molly, and Tonks quickly accepted. It seemed there were a lot of rooms in this house; it seemed larger than her initial assumptions.

They all settled in a living room to the side of the kitchen, and Molly brought them all hot chocolate, or coffee, or tea. Tonks got the hot chocolate. She liked hot chocolate. The room was warm, with a sweltering fire in the back corner, roaring away. There were several couches and armchairs which made the room quite cosy.

Over polite conversation, she discovered how Molly and Arthur had joined, learned about Molly's brothers, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, who had died in the first war. She learned more about Sirius, the man who was best friends with Remus, with James Potter, and she inadvertently learned about Harry Potter, Sirius Black's godson.

Kingsley sat in a mouldy armchair near the fireplace, staring into the depths of his tea.

Eventually Molly and Arthur retired to bed, leaving Tonks explicit directions to get to her room for the night. _This place is like a hotel,_ she mused. Kingsley and Sirius soon followed, trekking up the creaky stairs. Tonks was left alone in the living room with Remus. She stared at the glowing embers of the fire, feeling sorry for herself.

"You thought Alastor only brought you here for your ability, didn't you?" Remus' soft voice broke the silence in the room, and Tonks looked up at him.

"What do you mean?" she said slowly, definitely not wanting to sound sorry for herself.

"When Alastor basically told them you were here because you're a metamorphmagus."

Tonks cast him a searching look. How had he picked up on that? She was sure she had kept her face perfectly blank, after years of schooling her features after conflict with other people.

"You aren't the only one, you know," said Remus, smiling faintly.

"What special ability do you have, then?" she asked curiously.

Remus' face immediately turned blank, and Tonks finally understood how he had noticed the identical look on her own face.

She shrugged. "You don't have to tell me, I suppose," she tried to sound as if she was uninterested, and to her surprise it elicited a soft chuckle from Remus. She grinned slowly in return.

"Alastor does choose witches or wizards because of their abilities or capabilities, but he never chooses someone for one ability alone. Even then, he would only approach them if he was one hundred per cent sure of them." Tonks met him with silence, so he changed the subject. "So what sort of tests did you have to pass to join the Order? I heard Alastor is particularly choosy about new members..."

"Well, it really was a bit just like the Auror tests, I had to prove my aptitude, skills tests and all, and then I had to prove my loyalty."

"How did you do that?" Remus sounded genuinely curious, and Tonks wondered that he didn't do the same tests she did.

I had to take Veritaserum, and answer a whole lot of questions, I felt like I was in a criminal interrogation," she admitted. "Didn't you have to take any tests or anything?"

"No," Remus shrugged, "Dumbledore has known where my loyalties have stood since I was 11."

"Since you first started Hogwarts? What happened?"

Remus paused, and Tonks suddenly realised that they were again drawing near to the topic of whatever Remus' condition seemed to be.

"Dumbledore... arranged... some things that would make it possible for me to attend Hogwarts in the first place. If it weren't for him, I never would have been able to attend Hogwarts."

"Your... ability... is that serious?" said Tonks, open mouthed.

Remus nodded, but didn't say anything more.

Silence lapsed, and Remus used the moment to stoke the fire, sending sparks around the fireplace.

"I may as well call it a night," he said eventually.

"It was nice to meet you," she ventured.

Remus smiled a genuine smile. It lit his entire face up, and it seemed to erase all the scars, if only momentarily. "It was nice to meet you to. I hope you stay around."

She gave a small smile in return, and Remus left the room without looking back.

Tonks stayed in the warm room for a while longer. All this was so new to her, and it gave her hope. She finally believed what Kingsley had told her right from the start, that You-Know-Who had returned, that the Order of the Phoenix stood for everything Voldemort didn't. She felt, for the first time in a while, involved, and needed.

She believed that joining the Order of the Phoenix meant standing up for what she believed in, joining a cause that made sense. She could use the skills she was born with, the skills she had procured in the last four years as an Auror, and from her time at Hogwarts. She could admit that being an Auror had recently not been all it was cracked up to be, merely arresting petty criminals, nothing big.

This was big.

This was what she was made for.

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><p>So what do you think?<p> 


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